Method of making briquets.



F. A. JORDAN. METHOD OF MAKING BRIQUETS. APPLICATION FILED APR.30. 1914.

Patented Nov. 17, 1914.

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LIMITED, F SELLW'OOD, ONTARIO, CANADA, A CORPORATION OF SELL'WOOD, ONTARIO, CANADA, ASSIGNOR TO MOOSE MOUNTAIN,

ONTARIO.

METHOD OF MAKING BRIQUETS.

misses.

Application filed April 30, 1914.

a all whom it may concern:

Be it known tiat I, FRED A. JonDAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Sellwood, in the Province of Ontario and Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of lwiaking liriquets, of which the following is full, clear, and exact specification.

This invention relates to briqueting and has particular reference to the forming of briquets from comminuted iron or other ores, blast furnace fine dust, etc, preparatory to placing; the briquets in the briquetiuo' kiln or furnace.

This iuventitm is intended to apply especially to the treatment of ore containing material that has been concentrated by any of the se'" ral methods of wet concentration, but it may also be used for material that is dry by first adding water thereto and then trzating as wet material.

in briqueting Wet concentrates or similar material the usual procedure has been to allow the concentrates to settle in large vats or nks a sufficient length of time for the surplus Water to drain and evaporate. The niaterialwould then be transported bycranes and grab buckets to brick pressing machines and then in turn the bricks would be placed manually on the kiln cars by means of which "the material would be passed through the kilns This method has proved costly be.- cause of the expensive equipment necessary for the process and also because of the large amount. of manual labor that is needed. method has also restricted the output no a given size because of several sons. First, the bricks were li because of the necessity of lzceoing them down to reasonable dimensions that they could be transported manually from the brick press to the kiln car. Also the bricks when pressed from the comparatively dry material resulting from the draining process lacked tenacity and stability whi h also restricted the size of the indiv iftl brick and also added to the ditiiculty of handling them.

This invention comprises a continuous m thod whereby briquets are formed in a mold ithout pressure or binder, and placed on kiln car in position for firing, without 1 splacemeut from the position in which reed from the mold. Thereby, a large output is obtained with a minimum or labor Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 1'7, 1914.

Serial No. 835,378.

and equipment, and the size of the briqucts does not have to be determined so that they can be conveniently loaded on the kiln car by hand.

I have discovered that certain ore containing materials, such as concentrated iron ore, blast furnace dust, etc, can be briquetcd by a much simpler process than has heretofore been used. I dispense with drying the concentrates preliminary to charging into the mold, and also with pressing of the material in the mold, and alsowith removal of the briquet from a press to the kiln car.

The invention comprises casting or mold ing \vet linely comminuted ore concentrates, fine dust or similar material in a mold having one or more suitable compartments. The compartments are open at the top and bottom. While the mold is being filled it rests on a kiln car which has been heated by its previous passage through a kiln. The kiln car thus forms the bottom of the mold compartments. The heat radiating from the car assists in driving off the surplus moisture of the material that has been poured into the compartments of the mold. After the material has dried to a state of comparative dryness, the material begins to shrink slightly allowing the molds to be lifted gradually, leaving the bricks on the car in suitable position for burning in a kiln or tunnel furnace in the usual manner.

A feature of this invention is the utilization of the stored heat of the car to tie-Water and set the next charge of material, and

thereby a. continuous circulation of cars and molds is permitted with greateconomy of heat and labor. if found desirable, additional h at can be applied to de-Water and set the briquets.

A preferred form of plant for carrying out the method of this-invention comprises suitable supply and return tracks arranged in association with the kiln, a charging hopper, and transfer tracks, so that cars carrying empty moldframes can be loaded with wet material, which will dry, shrink, and set as the cars move along through a closed heat retaining chamber. During this period, the material dries and shrinksaway from the sides of the mold, permitting the mold frame to be lifted clear of the relatively soft briquets while still on the car. The car is then run into the kiln and the briquets fired to relative hardness, the loaded Cir our being discharged from the other end of the kiln and lGllll'llUtl to the loading point after the briquets have been removed. The mold frames after being removed from the ears are trans 'iorted to the return-track, and placed on the cars, so that when the ears and molds reach the filling point the molds are in position to be again filled with wet material.

the foregoing method and apparatus, large quan ties of wet materials can be handled and briqueted with but slight labor and expense, in a continuous process.

in the accompanying drar-rings, Figure 1 is a plan View of one form of plant. in which the method of this invention can be carried out, and Fig. :2- is an elevation.

Referring to Figs. 1 and l, 1 represents a charging hopper which collects the wet material it is conveyed from the concentrating department of the plant, or from the mixing machines, according to whether the plant is treating wet concentrates, or other inaterial that has been mixed with water. The material .llows from the hopper to the multiple molds 2, which are open at the bottom and are carried on a car 3, which runs on rails 4, which lead through a crying and setting chamber 5, which conserves the heat. This drying and setting chamber 5 eonsi. of brick side walls and a suitable roof, the roof preferably Containing sections which can be opened from time to lime to permit inspection of the briquets passing below. It will be seen that the large amount of heat lied the kiln cars is conserved in this in, chamber. This heat dries the mateat lhe same time shrinks away wlie iron. the mold sides, permitting the mold to be lifted away from the briquets Without either breaking them up or disturbing them in an y way. The cars 3 are run into the in.- closed drying chamber 5 from the supply transfer tracks 6, which carry transfer cars 7, and themselves have rails 8 forming a continuation of rails l. Figs. 1 and 2 show a r S on the transfer car 7 and also a car 3 in the drying chamber 5, being charged from the hopper 1. The cars 3 may be pushed into the drying chamber 5 by a hyd aulie plunger 9 and thereafter preferably run continuously through the kiln, though other means for movin the cars may be provided. At the end of tee drying chamber 5 is a transverse mold lifting and carrying; crane 10, which has four hvdraulie lifting cylinders ll provided with hooks 12 for lifting the molds from the cars 3.

l3 repreents the briquets, which, by this time, have dried and shrunk sullicienl'ly so not the mold frai. i

can be easily lifted.

the ear earthe kiln l l uiliciently kiln on to rails 17 carried. by a disc-h; c transfer car 15 similar to transfer car 4. The car 18 runs on transverse lilll 1 nor responding to rails 6, and the cars o are returned to the transfer tracks 6 on rerun rails 20. The crane 10 runs on transverse tracks 21 and comes the emotv inold I.

frames 2 transversely, as shown in Fig. l, s. that the mold can be dropped on to the turning cars. The cars then continue their return movement and repeat the cycle.

The kiln car absorbs a large amount oi heat in the kiln, and a feature of this invention is to utilize this heat from the kiln ear to form relatively soft briquets from next material charged into the mold. kiln car will ordinarily supply sullieient h" in the drying chamber 5 to de *ater and s the briquets. but for certain purposes, it may be desirable to apply additional heat chamber 5, without departure from the so so of this invention. The heat from the kiln car and the mold not only dries the material in the molds to cause it to set, but it simultaneously shrinks from the sides or the inn-l tiple mold frame. Qhis permits the open bottom mold frame to be lifted from the briquets without the interposition of expelling devices, such as plungers or the like, which are commonly used in pressed brick manufacture.

lhe present invention is especially ap plicable to iron ore concentrates, which I have discovered have the properties above specified of c ntracting away from the mold sides when dry. When this material dries to a moisture content of aboutlOj'. it a: umes an initial set and simultaneously shrinks from the walls pf the molds, for-ailing a relatively soft briquet. Further drying to about 71% moisture content etleets further hardenin and firmness of the material. and the mold frame can then be easily lifted without breakage or damage to thebrirniets. The length of time necessary. to accomplish this drying and shrinkingvaries with the amount of moisture in the concentrates and the size of the grains.

It will be understood that the len th of tracks required, the number and size of cars,

,mold frames, or the like, will be proportioned so as to make as nearly as possible continuous process, because thereby the greatest heat economy is obtained as well capacity of output. desired, in addition to lhe heat derived from the molds and the lriln ear, the drying and shrinking chamber 5 may be further heated, but this will ordina 'ily be required.

From the foregoing" description it will be seen that a norel method has been provided which does not require an expensive equipment, or large amount of manual labor, air-i1 the briquets can be of any desired size or shape most suitable to this method, without requiring change in the mechanical appliances. By this process, much larger briquets can be made than with previous processes, which is advantageous both because fewer are required for a given weight, but an increased quantity is fired in the kiln with each car loading.

Having thus described my invention, I declare that what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is z- 1. The method of making briquets which consists in positioning -a mold on a support, charging wet ore containing material into said mold, drying the material in the mold to effect initial set and shrinkage from the sides of the mold, removing the mold, and firing the material on the mold support.

2. The method of making briquets which consists in placing a mold on a heated car, charging wet ore containing material into the mold while on the car, forming a relatively soft briqnet in the mold by the heat from the car, separating the mold and said hriquet, and firing said briquet after the mold is removed and while on the car to harden and complete it.

3. The method of making iron ore briquets which consists in posltioning a mold on a support, charging wet concentrated iron ore into the mold, forming a self sustaining briquet smaller than the mold by applying heat to dry and shrink the material, lifting the mold from the briquet support, moving the support with the briquet into a kiln, and firing the hrique-t to harden and complete it.

l. The method of making briquets which consists in n :itioning a mold on a movable support, Ming wet ore containing matcrial into said mold, moving the support and the filled mold into a chamber to dry and initially set the material by confined heat, removing the mold from the support and the formed briquet, and then moving the support and the formed briquet into a kiln and firing to complete the briquet.

5. The method of making ore briquets which consists in pouring wet comniinuted ore containing material into multiple mold compartments, simultaneously drying and shrinking the material in the several compartments to form briquets, and then simultaneously firing the formed briquets without displacing them from the position in which they were formed.

6. The method of making briquets which consists in chargingvwet material into a mold and forming a briquet, separating the mold and the briquet, and firing the briquet in the same position in which it is molded.

7. The method of making briquets which consists in preheating a hriquct support, p0- sitioning a briquet thereon, charging wet ore containingmaterial into said mold on said preheated support to efiect drying and initial set of the briquet by the heat from said support, and removing the mold and firing without disturbing the position of the briquet.

8. The method of making fired briquets which consists in positioning a multiple compartment mold on a support, casting wet ore containing material in the mold while 'on said support, drying the material to set it in a plurality of briquets, lifting the mold from the formed briquets, and transporting and firing each charge of briquets without disturbing their pos ions when freed from the mold.

9. The method of making fired briquets which. consists in positioning a mold on a briquet firing support, casting wet ore containing material in the mold while on said support, drying the material to shrink and set it, and permit removal of the mold, li:t't ing the mold clear of the support and the formed briquets, firing the briquets on said support, and placing the heated car and an em ty mold at the mold filling point.

11 testimony whereof I ailix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

FRED A. JORDAN. Witnesses ARTHUR T. 'WALMSLEY, WILLIAM T. DAY. 

